1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a training aid for golfers to assist golfers in improving the accuracy of their golf swing, and more particularly to a particular portable and collapsible aid device which adjustably indicates direction of intended golf ball flight path, foot and body positioning, club retraction distance and length of backswing, until the clubhead starts its upward arc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many teaching aids to help a golfer learn the basic strokes or to improve his putting and his swing. Many devices include arrows or swing direction indicators and include a tee or an area on which the ball rests. A simple form of such a golf aid is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,484,064 to Erickson et al. This patent discloses a tee plate for golf courses which simply uses short arrows at the ends of the tee plate, the arrows pointing generally in the direction of the next green. There are no provisions for assisting in gauging backswing or player stance. Another golf tee which also indicates proper direction of the drive is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,761,532 to Morris. Morris shows a tee with two movable arrows to replace a sand tee, the arrows indicating the direction of swing and proper facing of the club for the drive. The arrows show the direction of flight but give neither indication of back stroke nor stance. Another device for indicating flight direction of a golf ball is placed on the tee itself. U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,179 to Vlach shows a disk-shaped swing guide which is placed over a tee and is rotated around the tee to indicate flight direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,166,327 to Champion discloses an arrow-shaped frame with adjustable indicators for foot and golf-ball position. Using Champion's device, a golfer positions the frame on the ground with the ball inside the frame and points the frame in the direction of the flight of the ball. The user stands outside the frame, positioning his feet relative to indicia on the frame. The frame is not collapsible nor adjustable for the height of the golfer. Another frame-like structure used as a golfer's aid is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,764 to Thomas. A panel with cut-away areas defining intersecting paths is used as a guide for ball direction and "swing-out" of the club.
There are also many golf teaching devices which are basically mats on which a user positions himself and upon which various directional indicia reminders and guides have been placed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,130 to Richards shows a mat with cut-out portions delineating foot position, and indicia for correctly locating the golf ball in position, according to the length of club being used. U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,352 to O'Brien discloses a training mat for golfers with various foot placement areas on which the golfer stands, according to what kind of club is being used. U.S. Pat. No. 1,484,390 to Gibbs et al discloses a set of instruction charts illustrating foot position, hand grip and ball placement for each type of golf swing. A player stands on the chart to practice each swing. U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,208 to Weygandt discloses a triangular mat including indicia and a tee opening. A golfer positions himself at the base of the mat, with the triangle tip pointing in the direction of flight, and places his feet parallel to the ends of the mat. The mat folds for storage in the golf bag. Another golf practice mat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,908 to Smith et al which includes a rectangular mat with arrow indicia and a tee on it. Adjustably extending from one mat side are a pair of rectangular secondary mats with upturned edges. Using this device, a player places his toes against the upturned edges of the secondary mats and hits a ball from the tee in the direction of the arrow.
Another type of golf aid is a golf putting aid which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,247 to Taylor. Parallel strip members are joined by adjustable means. Scales and/or guides for ball calibration, putter positioning and foot positioning are provided.
There are also some training devices which include upright members for guiding the golfer in body position, swing and stance. Among these are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,510,135, 3,649,029 and 3,999,765.
Insofar as the foregoing references teach useful functions for alignment devices having directional markings thereon, their disclosures are hereby incorporated. Only the invention, however, employs a set of conveniently collapsible and self-aligning strip sets that can accommodate persons of different heights, being collapsible into a set of stacked strips or deployed into a relatively large directional configuration.